MLA report for May 17

Hello Chestermere! Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Moms. I hope your families spoiled you and that you had some time to enjoy the beautiful weather out on a patio somewhere with your family and friends.As always the gift of time far surpasses any gift in the world, but I am very grateful to my hubby and my boys for the amazing banana caramilk pancakes to start off my day.

We hope you were able to take in many of the fantastic events in our wonderful little city.The Fine Art Guild had their spectacular show, and the talent is just overwhelming.Thank you to those of you who show us your life, emotions and interpretations through this medium, it is truly inspiring.We also attended the Emergency Services Open House and visited with our amazing first responders.Hopefully you had time to stop by Lifepath for their customer appreciation BBQ, and to enjoy great music by Taken by Sanity.I performed along with Taken By Sanity in May 2016 for the Feed The Need Fundraiser at NoFrills and lead singer Jonah Morris and Blaine and Blair Stillman are better than ever. Thanks to Jed Snatic and the entire Lifepath team for giving back to our community. We also hope you were able to make it to the Knights of Columbus Surf and Turf who this year were fundraising for the CRCA.I was unable to attend as I was working backstage at the Jubilee Auditorium for The Show season finale, something I have been doing for years. What a busy and incredible day.

Ok, now the fun stuff.Electricity and what is happening with your government with respect to that.As I write this the total electricity being generated in Alberta is 8600 megawatts. Alberta wind facilities have a theoretical “capacity” of 1445 megawatts. However, wind is actually producing 369 megawatts right now, or 4.29% of demand. The NDP Government wants to bring renewables, primarily wind, to 30% of our total “capacity” and is planning to pay for that “capacity” with your tax dollars. The government as it brings new renewables on line to our grid, will subsidize anything below 3.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, and right now that is a 10 million dollar subsidy per year.On its own, 3.7 cents is highly competitive with natural gas, but remember this deal is backstopped with your tax dollars and creates a false market.The question we should be asking is how much is the government willing to pay to keep these companies going?Is the market deciding? Are the dollars coming out of the carbon tax?How does it work?In the grand scheme of things, with wind at 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour, it seems like a great deal, but the question is what are you willing to pay?The Minister of Energy has extraordinary powers to bring renewables on line without debate in the legislature.She is able to do what ever deal she needs in conjunction with the Minister of Finance, and then subsidize the grid however she sees fit.How much will transmission cost?We don’t know!There is no transparency as to how this will work, and certainly no respect for your hard-earned tax dollars. We are looking at insufficient, highly variable production, with high production costs. Remember, the wind does not always blow, and that means some other type of generation has to kick in to keep our lights on and our houses warm. Remember, the NDP is getting rid of our reliable, efficient, low cost coal fired generation and is planning on paying further billions to generators for backstop “capacity”. This is a serious problem but don’t take my word for it: go to this page which updates every 5 minutes or so. Whoops, now wind is at 343 out of 8634 megawatts , or 3.97 % of our power needs. Watch the wind component for a day or so. Ask yourself if you want to rely on something that varies on a minute by minute basis for 30% of our power needs, and ask yourself if you want to be paying for wind “capacity” when it is cold, dark, and calm. Many experts have warned that 30% renewables will create a highly unstable grid. Blackouts at 30 degrees below zero, anyone?

The festival of Vaisakhi is wonderful, colourful festival that brings the Indian community together.Vaisakhi represents the beauty and the bounty of the harvest and is marked with a parade to bring the communities together to celebrate.This past weekend, the Sikh community celebrated the Nagar Kirtan where there is a procession of singing holy songs.People of all ages come together, provide free meals, and showcase their culture by through giving and sharing with open hearts.Happy Vaisakhi!

Constituency Associations are the backbone of any political party and since the electoral boundaries have been redrawn there will be some new ones to be established. In the next election, Chestermerians will be voting in the new riding of Chestermere Strathmore. I have registered as a candidate for the nomination as your UCP candidate. Remember, in order to vote in the upcoming meetings to establish the United Conservative Party Constituency Association for the new riding of Chestermere – Strathmore, and then to vote in any Nomination contest, you MUST be a UCP member! To join the UCP for the bargain price of $10, check your membership status, or find out more call or text 587-429-6465 or email voteleela@gmail.com.

Written By

Leela Aheer was elected to the Alberta Legislature in the riding of Chestermere-Rocky View. She currently resides in Chestermere and looks forward to using her roots in the community along with her experience in business, and her passion for her community to effectively advocate for her constituents in the Alberta Legislature.